不明不白 bù míng bù bái unclear, ambiguous

Explanation

形容说话含糊不清，不清楚。也形容事情的来龙去脉不清楚，让人难以理解。

Describes a vague, unclear statement or situation. It also describes something whose cause and course are not clear.

Origin Story

老张是一位经验丰富的木匠，他接了一个制作衣柜的活儿。客户只给了他一张简单的草图，上面标注了衣柜的尺寸和一些简单的设计要求，其他的细节一概没有提及。老张拿着草图，眉头紧锁，心里犯嘀咕：这尺寸看着没问题，可这设计也太简单了吧！这木料该怎么用？衣柜内部的隔层如何设计？这些细节都没说清楚，做出来万一客户不满意怎么办？老张心里七上八下，拿着草图来回比划，怎么看都觉得不明不白。他决定先去找客户沟通，把细节问题都问清楚，免得最后做出来的衣柜不符合客户的要求，又得返工。于是，老张找到了客户，和客户详细地沟通了衣柜的设计细节，包括木料的选择、隔层的样式、五金件的安装等等，直到每一个细节都弄明白之后，老张才安心地开始制作衣柜。最终，老张制作的衣柜不仅尺寸精准，而且设计合理，客户非常满意。这个经历让老张明白了一个道理：无论做什么事情，都要把事情弄清楚，做到心中有数，才能确保万无一失。

lao zhang shi yi wei jingyan fengfu de mujiang, ta jie le yige zhizao yigui de huoer. kehu zhi geile ta yizhang jiandan de caotu, shangmian biaozhu le yigui de chici he yixie jiandan de sheji yaoqiu, qita de xiangqing yigai meiyou tiji. lao zhang na zhe caotu, meitou suo, xinli fan di gu: zhe chici kan zhe mei wen ti, ke zhe sheji tai jiandan le ba! zhe muliao gai zenme yong? yigui neibu de geceng ruhe sheji? zhexie xiangqing dou mei shuo qingchu, zuo chulai wan yi kehu bu manyi zenme ban? lao zhang xinli qi shang ba xia, na zhe caotu lai hui bihua, zenme kan dou jue de bumingbu bai. ta jueding xian qu zhao kehu gou tong, ba xiangqing wen ti dou wen qingchu, miand de zuihou zuo chulai de yigui bu fuhe kehu de yaoqiu, you de fangong. yus, lao zhang zhao dao le kehu, he kehu xiangxide gou tong le yigui de sheji xiangqing, bao kuo muliao de xuanze, geceng de yangshi, wujinjian de anzhuang deng deng, zhi dao mei yige xiangqing dou nong mingbai zhihou, lao zhang cai anxin de kai shi zhizao yigui. zui zhong, lao zhang zhizao de yigui bujin chici jingzhun, erqie sheji he li, kehu feichang manyi. zhe jingli rang lao zhang mingbai le yige daoli: wulun zuo shenme shiqing, dou yao ba shiqing nong qingchu, zuo dao xinzhong you shu, cai neng quebao wanwu wushi.

Old Zhang, an experienced carpenter, took on a job to make a wardrobe. The client only gave him a simple sketch with the dimensions and some basic design requirements, but no other details. Old Zhang frowned, puzzled. The dimensions seemed fine, but the design was too simple. How should he use the wood? How should he design the interior compartments? These details were unclear, and he worried the client might not be satisfied with the result. Feeling uneasy, he paced back and forth, studying the sketch, finding it all too vague. He decided to talk to the client first to clarify the details and avoid any rework later. He contacted the client and carefully discussed the design details of the wardrobe, including wood selection, shelf design, and hardware installation, until every detail was clear. Only then did he confidently begin building the wardrobe. In the end, the wardrobe was precise in dimensions, well-designed, and very satisfying for the client. This experience taught Old Zhang an important lesson: whatever you do, make sure you clarify everything, know the details, and only then can you ensure everything is perfect.

Usage

用于形容说话或事情含糊不清，不清楚。常用于口语中。

yongyu xingrong shuohua huo shiqing hanhu bu qing, bu qingchu. chang yongyu kouyu zhong.

Used to describe something vague and unclear, both in terms of speech and matters. Often used in everyday spoken language.

Examples

• 这件事的来龙去脉不明不白，让人摸不着头脑。

  zhe jianshi de lailongqumai bumingbu bai, rang ren mo bu zhao tounao.

  The ins and outs of this matter are unclear and confusing.

• 他的解释含糊不清，不明不白。

  ta de jieshi hanhu bu qing, bumingbu bai

  His explanation was vague and incomprehensible.

Related Idioms

• 含糊其辞

• 模棱两可

Opposite Idioms

• 一清二楚

• 清清楚楚